It took most of a lightening for the majus to make the changes to the beetle, and while she did that, Mom and I fashioned earplugs out of the wax that was keeping the rations from getting wet. We had to stuff them in pretty good to deaden the noise of the waterfall. The majus waved us away when we tried to give her earplugs. The Lobath didn’t even have any folds on the outside of her ears—just little holes in the side of her round head, under where her head-tentacles started.
Finally, Majus E’Flyr signaled the crystal beetle drill was ready. Mom and I hooked our food net to the shell of the beetle with the rest of the supplies this time. It would already be hard to climb sideways. The pulleys we’d used to hoist the net up wouldn’t work going sideways.
We were almost done when I realized Wailimani was waving an arm at us so fast he was twisting around in his harness. We took our earplugs out so we could hear him. “Why do we all not simply ride on the beetle?” he shouted.
Mom and I looked at each other. “We’re too heavy,” she shouted back. “The drill can’t hold all of us. We tried when we first discovered it, back in Broken Column.”
The Kirian raised a finger. “It could not be holding you all before. But I am to be much lighter than your porter, and you have been eating your rations. We are weighing less now.”
Mom frowned. I could tell she wanted to argue.
That’s all right, Mom. I want to argue too. Any time the Kirian mentioned Partino, I wanted to hit him. I took in a deep breath, then let it out. And hitting him won’t do anything, will it?
Unless he falls off the wall and then the beetle has to carry even less. Then we won’t need four climbers.
Majus E’Flyr considered our group for a long time, then went to the nets hanging from the beetle, touching each one. I saw her head-tentacles twitching in rhythm, like when she was doing something with the Symphony.
Finally she came back to us. “We can try it. The strength of the drill seems to be a little higher than the weight of the party, but it’s close.”
The majus opened the hatch on the beetle’s shell again and flicked a few switches. “I’ll try it first, and we can add more people, one at a time.”
Majus E’Flyr tied her harness to the intersection between the beetle’s legs and body, and hung underneath while the metallic body rotated sideways, legs scrabbling. The beetle caught the holes she’d already drilled, and turned her head so it was pointing horizontally under the ridge of the Nose. She scuttled forward, then plunged her mandibles into the wall. I couldn’t hear the hiss over the waterfall, but I knew the sound the crystal beetle drill made as she worked. Majus E’Flyr waved a long hand to us so we would climb after the beetle.
It was really hard climbing sideways. Mom and I had to support our whole weight while reaching out to install the next anchor in an open hole. Then we’d transfer our harness to the new anchor.
I’m so glad I have earplugs in. I looked back at Wailimani. His mouth was open, and I’m sure he was complaining about, well everything. He’s going to catch a mouthful of water. If he drowns, I’m not going back.
After a few minutes, Majus E’Flyr climbed up and stopped the beetle, then gestured me join her. We arranged the ropes so I was tucked in, like we were both riding sideways piggyback on the crystal beetle drill. My legs dangled out over the white and frothy clouds below us. I was glad I couldn’t see the ground from here.
After a few more minutes, Wailimani joined us. I saw Mom rolling her eyes as he passed her, obviously talking about how he should get a place before her because his shoulders hurt and he was so pitiful, blah, blah, blah.
Soon after, Mom joined us too. The beetle creaked a little when she got on and we all froze. We and the three nets were all hanging off the side of the beetle, nothing under us. If she fell off, we would fall like Partino and Wailimani’s assistant. My heart skipped a few beats, and an image of a body, arms outstretched, flashed through my mind. I gripped the black metal of the beetle’s shell.
Don’t fall. Don’t fall. You can do it! You’re the crystal beetle drill! You’re old and strong and you can do anything.
The beetle shifted, tipping out from the wall.
I yelled, and Wailimani yelled with me. We’re going to fall!
But then she pulled herself back straight, putting her jointed legs in different holes. She reached out to drill the next set of holes, and her legs creaked forward, dragging us along, each step tipping us out over nothingness until the jointed leg found a hole and gripped it. We hung there while she continued to drill, and walk, drill and walk.
My heart was hammering, my breathing shallow. I wiped water from my goggles as the beetle kept moving.
“She’s working!” I called out. Mom must have barely heard me, because she turned and gave a little grin.
* * *
We spent four days and three nights riding on the back of the crystal beetle drill, underneath the ridge of the Wall’s Nose, wiping spray off our goggles, and listening to the roaring of water. There were little spots of moss on the underside of the Nose. Maybe dirt had somehow collected under there. I wanted to stop and get my notebook out so I could do a couple sketches of how the little patches of green grew. Could I figure out how they attached to the wall?
When did I start wondering about things like that?
I kept the earplugs in the whole time, mainly to block out Wailimani’s whining. None of the rest of us did much talking. We slept where we were, in our harnesses.
At lunch on the third day, I saw Mom looking through the rations before returning with seaweed wafers and squid jerky. I was sick of them by now, and we’d been eating them long enough I knew exactly how much everyone got. There was a little less jerky than the day before. I looked a question at her, but she only shook her head.
We could see an edge to the curtain of water now, and it got closer, lightening after lightening. It was near dark on the fourth day when the bulge of the Nose began to fade back into the wall. The rushing water wasn’t nearly as strong here, and stopped entirely a little further ahead.
Majus E’Flyr let the beetle run sideways until she crossed the last surge of water. Out here, without the Nose, the flow ran straight down the wall and into the clouds. The beetle didn’t have much problem wading through this sheet of water. She just dunked her head underneath to drill, then moved her legs carefully to find the hole.
“Look there,” I called. The waterfall was still loud, but we didn’t have to shout so much, and I took out my earplugs, moving my jaw around to loosen things up.
“I see it too,” Mom said, as she took out her own earplugs. There was another crack in the wall, where a sharp hunk of crystal jutted out like a thumb. On top of it grew a massive tree, its trunk sticking almost straight out from the wall.
“That is to be better,” the Kirian explorer said, as soon as the earplugs were out. “I was worrying we would not be able to converse for the rest of the journey.”
“How sad,” I muttered. I caught the edge of a smile from Majus E’Flyr, but then she pretended to re-braid her head-tentacles.
“Are you not to be glad I was having the suggestion of riding the beetle?” Wailimani continued. “You see I am to be a benefit to the team.”
We stared at him, and finally Mom said, “This doesn’t make up for anything, you know.”
“Give it time,” the Kirian said with one of his pointy smiles.
Was that what the sneaky coward was up to, with all that frowning and thinking? Trying to make himself useful to us? Well it’s not working!
The beetle climbed through the water to the tree, clambering up on the pedestal. The tree’s base covered the thumb of crystal, spreading out and clutching with long dangling roots. Somehow another seed had grown up here, so far above the ground even the clouds were below us. It must have been hundreds of cycles old, branching into multiple gnarled limbs that formed a sort of platform, the leafy canopy sticking almost out to the nearest column.
The trunk was wider than the beetle, and she clambered up to stand on it. We could sit upright for the first time in days, and decided to stay the night there. While we made camp, the majus fiddled with the insides of the beetle, to make her climb straight up again, rather than sideways.
Mom looked up the expanse of the wall above us, the waterfall now to our left. “Can we ride the drill rest of the way up rather than climbing?” she asked. “We can attach the harnesses around the neck so we hang down its back.”
Majus E’Flyr waggled one long-fingered hand. “Probably, but there was a lot of stress on the legs while we were climbing sideways. I don’t think it was meant to do that.”
“Could you make her legs stronger?” I asked. I had my notebook out, trying to get the long curving trunk of the tree just right.
The majus’ silvery eyes looked even more surprised than normal. “Another good idea, Natina. Especially considering I will need to strengthen the whole party each morning if we do not ride the drill.” She tugged on one head-tentacle. “I will think on it tonight while we sleep. It will require finesse with the Symphony.”
I carefully did not jump up and down and cheer, partly because the tree was not that wide.
From ‘girl’ to ‘daughter’ to ‘Natina.’ I have to keep coming up with good ideas.
We hung our hammocks between the tree’s branches that night. It was ancient, and its roots curved and gripped the jutting crystal like a vise. It was much nicer than getting jostled around as the beetle climbed. With the waterfall, the noise, and the motion, I hadn’t slept well the past few days, but at least my arms and legs had rested. The majus was looking better too—not quite as purple and wrinkly.
The beetle stood motionless at the base of the tree, jointed metal legs stuck in holes among the tree’s roots. I imagined she was sleeping too. About time she rested.
* * *
The next morning, the majus was up before I was, climbing over the beetle and examining her legs. Mom and Wailimani were at the supply nets, looking through the rations. I went to see the majus.
“So can you make the crystal beetle drill carry us without hurting her legs?”
Majus E’Flyr wiped grease on her orange jumpsuit. She had two suits—the orange one, and the blue one—but while we’d been climbing, both had become covered with grease and dirt. Mom and I had wrapped our flowing pants tight around our legs so they couldn’t get in the way, and now there were stripes of dirt down them where they had touched the wall.
“Yes, I can make the legs stronger. The weakness is mainly in the side of the knee joints. I had to find the right melody to figure it out. Right there, see?” The majus pointed to the nearest leg with a long wrinkled finger. There were three round joints between the parts of each leg, which let them reach in all directions. I looked closer.
“It looks like the metal is curved outward. That joint won’t bend very well. Is it supposed to be like that?” I asked.
The majus shook her head. “Our weight hanging off the side of the drill for four days caused the deformation.” She straightened, then set her stumpy legs on the trunk of the tree, leaving her hands free. “I’ll have to try something complicated. This will take a lot of my notes, and it will be permanent.” Her large silvery eyes watched me. “That means I can’t get those notes back. I will be tired for a few days, but hopefully we’ll be climbing while that happens. Now watch.”
I stared at her as she reached both hands out, and clutched two of the beetle’s six legs. The majus tilted her head to one side, fingers tapping a slow rhythm on the metal.
At first I didn’t see anything, but then I noticed the color changing. Usually the beetle was dark, almost black. But around each leg joint, her color was lightening a little. As I watched, it turned from black, to grey, to silver with a sheen of blue on top. I looked at the other legs. All of them had changed color.
Majus E’Flyr let go with a sigh, leaning back in her harness, which was still clipped to the tree. I caught her arm, which was dark purple again. Her skin was cold and clammy. She might have fallen off the trunk if I hadn’t held her.
After a moment, the majus shook her head. “I am well, Natina,” she said. “Just tired.”
I straightened a little at my name. “What did you do?” I asked. I’m helping a majus, discussing changes to the Symphony like it’s a normal day! No one back home would believe this, even if they accepted that we’d climbed up the wall of the Nether.
“It’s complicated,” she answered, “but in simple terms I made the metal stronger right around the joints.”
“Why did it change color?” Something from the Symphony?
“It’s a side effect,” Majus E’Flyr said. “The metal alloy composition is a little different now, because I took some tiny bits of metal from around us, and in us, and from the surface of the wall. When I added them to the joints in a certain ratio, it made a stronger mixture of elements.”
I nodded my head. Even if I didn’t completely understand, I wouldn’t let the majus know that. I’d be back to ‘girl’ in a moment.
Mom and Wailimani came back soon after, and we showed them what the majus had done.
“So, we no longer need a four-person climbing crew?” Mom said, giving the Kirian a very direct stare.
“If we leave him here, he can gnaw on the tree for food,” I suggested. I showed my teeth to him. Mine weren’t pointy, but I hope it got my attitude across.
Wailimani’s crest rose and spread, and his eyes grew wide. “I have already showed I am to be helpful.” His hands rose too, fingers with curving nails spread wide as if to ward us off. “I am having many good ideas. I can be helping you tell others about your adventures, and returning valuable artifacts to their owners. Whatever you are wishing.”
Mom growled, then turned away. “No, we can’t just leave you here, whatever you’ve done. That wouldn’t be ethical.”
I grimaced and looked to the majus. “We can’t?” She hesitated, then shook her head.
“Whatever help you are needing,” Wailimani said. “Only be telling me what—”
“Shut up,” Mom said, whipping back around. The Kirian closed his mouth with a click of pointy teeth. “Just. Shut up. You’ll come with us, but one more wrong move and…” she raised a finger, pointing out over the abyss beneath us.
Something else Mom didn’t tell me about being a naturalist.
We tied ourselves onto the beetle, Wailimani with his head down, not saying anything. Our mount drilled new holes in the wall, making her way from the trunk of the tree to bare crystal again.
We’ll have a fresh supply of water as long as the waterfall is nearby. I tried not to look at the Kirian.
Climbing was a lot smoother now the beetle was going straight up rather than sideways. She seemed to have no problem with our weight, maybe because of her orientation, and maybe because of what the majus did to her joints. We hung in our harnesses, tied to hooks and joints on the beetle.
My arms almost felt rested from the days of climbing. I bet my muscles are twice as big as when we started. I felt my upper arm when no one was watching. Feels bigger. Not as big as Partino’s arms, of course…
I sighed, and turned to watch Mom, who was tied in on the other side of the beetle. Her brow was creased like when she was trying to do calculations, and not getting the answer she wanted.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her. Then I remembered her and Wailimani looking through the rations.
“It’s been about twenty-five days since we started from Gloomlight,” Mom said. “I wasn’t thinking the climb would last this long, or at least that we might come across some other food source. But it’s been bare crystal, the whole way up.”
“Except for those two trees,” I reminded her. “And the moss.”
“Yes, I was hoping to find more like that,” she said. “However, I’m pretty sure that moss was toxic, and anyway, there weren’t enough patches to be worthwhile.
”
“What about Wailimani’s food?” I asked. I remembered the small bag they carried. I narrowed my eyes. Wait, I don’t remember seeing it for a while.
“Haribrana was to be carrying much of our supplies when he…fell,” the Kirian explorer said. His crest was flat and spread out in sorrow. “We were not calculating to be climbing so long either.”
“So our rations are getting low,” Majus E’Flyr said.
We all fell silent for a moment, jolting around with the movement of the beetle. I heard the hiss of her mandibles drilling another pair of holes.
“We have another four days,” Mom finally said. “Six if we stretch it out.” She shaded her eyes and stared up the length of the wall. “I can see a haze up there. If it’s the top, we can go a little light on meals and should be fine.”
“If nothing else goes wrong,” the majus said, and Mom acknowledged the comment with a shrug. “What if it’s not the top?”
“Then you can make a portal to get us back down, right?” I asked. I could see the haze, too, and hoped it was the top of the Nether. I could be a little hungry for a few days, if it was the difference between reaching the top and almost reaching the top.
“If we absolutely have to, we can bail out early,” Mom said, and grimaced. “But the original idea was for Majus E’Flyr to make a portal once we reach the top. It would let others travel directly there, now we’ve blazed the trail. Then we could explore more of the Nether’s ceiling.”
“Which should have been the real objective of this expedition,” Wailimani piped up. “Who is to be knowing what awaits up there? I am to be looking forward to traveling back up once the portal is stable, with whatever we are finding. You will see I am to be very good at publicizing such adventures.”
As good as he is at missing the point.
“That’s the question, though,” Majus E’Flyr said. She’d been quiet while we discussed the portals only she could make. “Where can I make a portal? I’ve told you, resistance from the wall interferes with big changes to the Grand Symphony.” She concentrated for a moment, the ends of her braided head-tentacles twitching, then shook her head. “It is still harder than I anticipated, changing the melody up here versus on the ground.”
Tales of the Dissolutionverse Box Set Page 53